Chapter 17

Nathaniel

We stood there in the darkness, holding each other - caught between two worlds. One where we could be together, and one where we couldn’t. But for now, in this stolen moment, we chose the world where we had each other.

His body was warm against mine, his skin slick from the lingering heat of our shift. Because we came here as wolves, we were already bare, nothing between us but the anticipation thrumming in the space we hadn’t yet closed.

I leaned in, brushing my lips against his, slow and teasing, drinking in the taste of him - earthy, wild, mine. His breath hitched as I trailed my mouth lower, my tongue flicking over the pulse at his throat, feeling the way it quickened beneath my touch.

Then, I dropped to my knees before him.

His cock was already hard, thick and waiting, the tip glistening with need. I wrapped my fingers around the base, stroking him once, slow and deliberate, watching as his muscles tensed under my touch. The deep, guttural moan he let out sent a spark of heat straight to my own cock, the sound raw and desperate.

I looked up at him as I ran my tongue along the underside of his shaft, teasing, letting the anticipation build. He groaned, his hands tangling in my hair, his hips jerking slightly as I sucked the head into my mouth.

“Fuck, Nate…” His voice was rough, breathless.

I hummed in response, the vibration making him shudder. I took him deeper, hollowing my cheeks as I sucked him in, my tongue swirling around him as I bobbed my head, taking my time, savoring every inch. His fingers tightened against my scalp as he thrust shallowly into my mouth, the control in his movements slipping.

I licked, sucked, and nibbled, teasing him to the edge and pulling him back just enough to make him groan in frustration. But when I finally took him all the way down, letting him hit the back of my throat, his curse-filled moan echoed through the cave, raw and beautiful.

I kept going, stroking him with my lips and tongue, swallowing around him, drinking in his pleasure until his breaths turned ragged, his body trembling beneath my touch.

“I’m gonna… fuck-” He gasped, his grip on my hair tightening.

I didn’t stop. I wanted to taste him.

With a strangled groan, he spilled into my mouth, hot and thick, his cock twitching as I swallowed every last drop. I licked him clean, savoring the salt and heat of him before finally pulling back, my lips glistening with the evidence of what I had done.

Standing, I captured his mouth in a quick, hungry kiss, letting him taste himself on my tongue. Then, without a word, I turned him around, guiding him to brace against the rough stone wall. His ass was bare before me, the sight making my cock throb painfully. I reached into the small stash we kept in the cave, my fingers curling around the familiar bottle of lube. Flipping the cap open, I poured some onto my fingers, warming it between my hands before spreading it over his tight entrance.

His breath hitched as I pressed the first finger inside, slow but firm.

“You good?” I murmured in his ear.

“Yeah,” he panted, pushing back against my touch. “More.”

I added another finger, curling them slightly as I moved, stretching him open, feeling the way his body responded. His moans grew louder, more desperate, his hips grinding back against my hand.

“That’s it,” I whispered, pressing deeper, my fingers finding that spot inside him that made his entire body jolt. “Right there?”

He let out a choked noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a moan. “Yes… fuck. Do that again.”

I did, rubbing against his prostate with slow, purposeful strokes, watching as he came undone beneath my hands. His legs trembled, his breath came in ragged gasps, and his fingers clawed at the stone wall.

“Fuck me,” he pleaded, his voice wrecked. “Nate, please.”

I growled low in my throat, withdrawing my fingers and coating my cock in more lube, stroking myself once before lining up at his entrance.

With one slow, deliberate thrust, I pushed inside him. A deep, guttural groan tore from my throat as I sank into his tight heat, his body gripping me like a vice. His moan was just as desperate, his back arching as he took all of me in one smooth motion.

“Goddess, you feel so good,” I ground out, pressing my forehead against his shoulder as I gave him a moment to adjust.

He exhaled shakily, his muscles clenching around me. “Move,” he demanded, his voice hoarse.

I did.

I pulled back, then slammed back in, setting a slow, deep rhythm that had us both gasping. The slick heat of him, the way his body welcomed me so perfectly, the way his moans filled the cave - it was intoxicating.

I gripped his hips, pulling him back against me as I thrust harder, deeper. The slap of skin against skin mixed with the raw sounds of our pleasure, the air thick with the scent of sweat and sex.

He was moaning my name, begging for more, and fuck, I gave it to him. My pace quickened, my thrusts turning brutal, relentless. I reached around him, wrapping my fingers around his cock, stroking him in time with my movements.

“Fuck, Nate… I’m close.” His voice was barely coherent, his entire body shaking.

I was right there with him, the pressure coiling deep in my spine, my release hanging just out of reach. I slammed into him one last time, and he shattered.

His cry echoed off the stone walls as he came, thick ropes of cum painting his stomach and my hand. The sight of him falling apart beneath me was too much. With a final, brutal thrust, I buried myself inside him, my orgasm tearing through me as I filled him with everything I had.

For a long moment, neither of us moved, both of us lost in the lingering aftershocks of pleasure. My forehead rested against his back, our breaths mingling, bodies still tangled together.

Eventually, I pulled out, watching as my cum dripped down his thighs, the sight making my cock twitch even in exhaustion. I grabbed a cloth from the nearby supplies and cleaned him off gently, pressing a soft kiss between his shoulder blades.

“You okay?” I asked, my voice softer now.

He turned, his lips curling into a lazy, satisfied smirk. “More than okay.”

I chuckled, pressing another kiss to his lips before pulling him down onto the blankets we had laid out.

The air was cool, but Liam curled up beside me, his body warm and familiar against mine. His head rested on my chest, and I wrapped an arm around him, holding him close, trying to savor the rare, stolen moments like this. In here, the outside world didn’t exist. The pack didn’t exist. It was just us.

As we always did, we started talking about what life could be like if things were different. If there were no pack duties, no titles, no expectations weighing us down. A world where we could be free, where we didn’t have to hide. I let his voice wash over me, the sound soft and comforting, but deep down, I couldn’t help the ache that gnawed at me.

“I wish it could be that way,” Liam said quietly, his fingers tracing absent patterns on my chest. “Just us, no pack, no rules. No pretending.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, unable to speak for a moment. I had thought about it more times than I could count. A life where I could openly love him, where we didn’t have to meet in secret, where I didn’t have to be the Beta who kept everything bottled up.

“I know,” I whispered, my voice raw. “I wish it could be like that, too.”

Liam sighed softly, and I could feel the tension leave his body as he relaxed against me. His words echoed in my mind, and guilt twisted inside me, sharp and relentless. I didn’t deserve this remarkable man lying beside me, this man who had loved me for so long without ever asking for more than what I could give. He had accepted the shadows we lived in, even though he deserved so much more.

I didn’t deserve him, not when I couldn’t give him what he truly needed. Not when I couldn’t stand beside him openly, the way he deserved to be loved.

Liam shifted slightly, his hand slipping into mine. In that moment, I squeezed back, grounding myself in the simple, familiar gesture. We stayed like that for a while, the cave wrapped in silence, just the sound of our breathing filling the space.

“Maybe someday,” I murmured, more to myself than to him, “we won’t have to hide anymore.”

Liam didn’t say anything, but the way he held me tighter told me that he wanted to believe it too, even if it felt impossible.

Eventually, the day’s weight began to catch up with us, and I felt the pull of sleep dragging me under. As I closed my eyes, I couldn’t shake the thought that I was somehow betraying him by staying, by allowing myself to keep him hidden like this. But for now, at this moment, I held on to him, held on to the only thing that felt real, and let myself drift.

In the quiet darkness of the cave, with Liam beside me, I finally let go.